Forgotten hero of Waterloo
Lifestyle - Historian WILLIAM HENRY has dug deep into newspaper archives from the 1890s to learn more about Galwayman Patrick O’Hara, believed to be the last survivor of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, which ended Napoleon’s dominance in Europe. Patrick was just 14 years old when he was injured in the battle. He ended his days in poverty in Galway City, a cause of anger among those who interviewed him.
An important story came to light in February 1892 about an old soldier who lived in Sickeen in Galway City, who was regarded the last survivor of the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.
It was on this Belgian battlefield that the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated, having conquered so much of Europe in the previous years.
It had been reported some weeks before February 1892 that the last survivor of Waterloo had died, a report that triggered local reporters to investigate its validity, as they were aware of an old Waterloo soldier in Sickeen, Woodquay.
Reporters from the Galway Pilot and Tuam Herald approached the man, requesting interviews and he obliged. His name was Patrick O’Hara and he was well-known in Galway, as he’d lived in the city for some 40 years. Locals and neighbours were aware also that he had fought at Waterloo.
Patrick was 91 years old in 1892, living in a state of poverty in a thatched ‘cabin’ close to the River Corrib. He was weak and feeble, partially blind and a little deaf. However, despite his age and ill health, the reporters observed that his mannerisms were still very much those of a soldier. He was able to walk and answer all questions with ‘clearness and intelligence’, they stated.
Of course, their first question was to confirm if he had seen action at Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated by the English and Prussians.
Patrick O’Hara confirmed that he had served as drummer-boy in the Duke of Wellington’s (Sir Arthur Wellesley’s) army at Waterloo. He had been wounded in the neck by a musket shot and the scar was still plainly visible.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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